Re: Tractor Fire

No oil change yet - Only thing that I have done to this point is check the fluids each weekend - only had it 4 weeks.

Any guesses on what normally causes such a fire? Hose bust and catch off of the manifold? Or electrical that burns through a line? etc?

Went back this afternoon and crawled under it - can't see what the cause was - it was burning and leaking on the very rear left side of the engine - right up against the firewall. Looks like the starter is right there - but most of the hydrolic lines look to be on the right side.

Re: Tractor Fire

if you take some pictures and post them, it's likely someone could be helpful to you.
You wouldn't have oil everywhere unless something came loose or you put a hole in your block but I think
you would have heard that. Antifreeze doesn't burn, and electrical wires usually trip a breaker before there's a problem.
But applying diesel fuel or motor oil to a hot engine will sure get things exciting in a hurry. I'm guessing a loose oil fill or external oil line like
a turbo oil line. Unless you snagged a line crashing through the woods, did you do any offroading recently? Otherwise something likely
came loose. Hope it's something simple and the damage is only cosmetic and parts swapping.

Re: Tractor Fire

WOW! What a bad day. I will think about this every time use my tractor. Hope it can be resolved to your satisfaction, as you deserve some good news. Very interested in what happened and hope it is not a common problem. Good luck......(sounds weak after what happened)

Any guesses on what normally causes such a fire? Hose bust and catch off of the manifold? Or electrical that burns through a line?

From what you described, I would guess a fluid leak occurred and caught fire from something hot. The fire burned the electrical cable. The fluid leak could be a number of things including something broke, to a hose that worn against something hot or rubbed something that turned. It will be interesting to hear what the expert claim adjuster has to say.

If you aren't happy with the official answer, you may want to get a second opinion from an expert.

Given that this is a brand new tractor - 4 weeks off the lot - 50 hours - do you think that it's a warranty issue or an insurance claim?

I was assuming warranty - but really dont know what to expect tomorrow

Totally depends on: what actually happened, what failed if anything or if its operator error. That is why you may want to get a second opinion if the official answer comes back with operator error and therefore your responsibility. If its a faulty part or something that is determined to be the responsibility of the manufacturer then you will have a warranty claim. Hopefully the latter and hopefully you have a dealer that will work for you to get it resolved to your satisfaction.

How did things go with the Kubota? End up having a world of problems? or some magic happy ending?

Magic happy ending for sure. It was a rat/mouse/bird nest on the valve cover beside the muffler and turbo. I actually put it out before anything on the tractor caught fire, just the nest. I was lucky to have noticed it when I walked by because I had driven up to a friends shop and was walking in the door. I turned around to see flames shooting out from under the hood. If I'd made it inside it might have been and hour or three before anyone went back out side.

The only damage was to clean up all the powdery mess from the extinguisher, which I've been told is corrosive.

Re: Tractor Fire

Originally Posted by MIKE R

A local horse club has a Massey 165 that the battery lead was rubbing on a oil line, it arched and heated the oil line red hot and caught the oil on fire.

just curious but new massey tractors have engine oil lines?? you asked earlier if the guy changed his oil. In all my years i have not seen an actual oil line especially one that runs over a battery cable. That has to be the weirdest thing i have heard of. Every motor i have worked on has an internal oil pump that distributes the oil internally